English Language Learners: A Conceptual Analysis

In this article, the authors examine the challenges of working with English Language learners with learning disabilities. The article begins with a dilemma that many educators face daily, being able to meet the needs of all students in a classroom. The article identifies the characteristics of LD students, issues ELL students face learning a second language and the cultural context for teaching and learning. The next part of the article offers a framework that addresses the educational needs of students based on their language, disability and culture. It focuses on how general and special educators along with the ELL teacher can effectively collaborate together to meet the needs of all learners.

As our nation shifts towards a more culturally diverse population both educators and families have to find a common ground to ensure that English Language Learners are academically successful. All stakeholders must carefully consider the social cultural impact on an ELL education. The process of raising bilingual learners take more than a language a school and a language learned at home. The transition must have a purpose and a goal.

The all too familiar situation of English language learners (ELLs) struggling in a classroom that is not meeting their needs is the theme of this short film. ELL’s present unique challenges for teachers given how the California educational system calls for only one year of English language development (EDL). After this time, English language development goals rest on the shoulders of the general education teacher with the additional requirement of infusing SADIE strategies into their daily lessons.

The test is administered in the spring and the results provide students, teachers, and parents with an objective view of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. The listening and speaking scores are combined to obtain an overall scale score, as are the reading and writing scores. The overall performance is determined by the scores in each combined area. A conversion chart is provided in each grade band, to convert the raw score to a scale score. Then depending on where the scale scores land will give you the placement level that the student is at. To move from one level to another both component scores must land in the upper level range. A student, who advances in only one

The Toms River High School East Child Stud Team (CST) would like to provide comments and concerns relating to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), No Child Left Behind, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 requirement of assessments in public schools and that all students must participate, with the sole focus on the state of New Jerseys decision to use the PARCC. Specifically, considering the impact is has on students classified with learning disabilities. I would like to urge you to think about reevaluating the procedure of using the PARCC and other standardized tests that are geared to general education students to assess our students because it seems to be doing more harm than good. During the

1. ( 4 pts.) How are ELL students assessed under Title I and under Title III of NCLB?

Needs assessments are conducted every spring and is administered by each LEA which includes input from the teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, parents, recruiters, and other service providers. Interviews/focus groups are held every year to determine the needs and satisfaction regarding the LEA’s program. The Language proficiency assessment is given to all ELL students for placement in the LEP programs. The content achievement assessments are given by the state to student in grades 3-12 which are administered annually and measure the student’s abilities in reading, writing, math, computer skills, and other content areas. K-2 assessments are used to provide data of student’s development and progress in reading and math using formative and summative assessments (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us).

These standarized tests were not created to measure students’language proficiency .With the No child Left Behind Act(NCLB), states have to use standarized testing to measure students’ adequate yearly progress(AYP). According to Paige , one of the proponents of the NCLB, standardized tests deliver a valid and reliable means of measuring student learning, and this method expands on teacher-made assessments(Hulsh 2005). Test results alone should not be reliable and valid to measure students’learning. Acombination of assessments and projects can be more reliable and valid to show students’ yearly progress. Because English learners students lack the language proficiency to read and comprehend the questions, the results shoould be considered worthless. The invalid results don’t speak to the students’abilities. Fry mentioned that 46% of 4th grade students in the English language learner (ELL) category scored “below basic” in mathematics in 2005 and that that about 51% of 8th grade ELL students are behind whites in reading and math (Fry 2007). It is nearly impossible for half of ELL to receive a low score in the test. These numbers don’t always mean that the students don’t know the answer, but maybe the numers tell us that the english learners lack the reading comprehension needed to unsderstand the questions. According to Haladyna, students stop taking the test or mark answers aimlessly not because they didn’t learn but because they can not read and nonresponse and omitted responses are more prevalent with English language learners (Haladyna, 2006). When taking the math test, students migh know the answers , but can interpret the question wrong therefore giving a wrong answer.

This artifact supports the standards 4.5 and 4.6. I use my progress monitoring sheets to keep accurate data on the students’ progress towards their IEP objectives. This form allows me to quickly determine the students’ percentage of accuracy for any specific trial. This progress monitoring form allows me to see the students’ progress and make adjustments to my teaching methods as needed.

Those who are currently teaching are required to take a course called Rethinking Equity and Teaching English Language Learners (RETELL) or Secondary English Language (SEI) course so they can be better prepared to teach the students of other primary languages. The data from the ELL students in the three districts are more dramatic than percentages of students with disabilities. Compared to Norwood and Brockton’s ELL student population, Monson only had 7 ELL students in their district in 2016. When comparing the ELA, math, and science scores for all three towns, Monson didn’t even have sufficient data to record. Norwood and Brockton however, had interesting data to compare. In ELA, Norwood scored higher than Brockton with a percentage of 41 and Brockton at 13 percent for students who performed with high proficiency. In math, Norwood had a 40 percent higher academic standing, whereas Brockton only had 15 percent. Both Monson and Brockton ELL students performed below the achievement gap goal with negative scores. Norwood, however, performed above the state level for all three subjects. There was no data found in the scoring of ELL students in Monson for MCAS scores. Out of the 5th grade ELL students in Norwood, who participated in the MCAS, 6 scored in above average, 31 percent scored in proficient, 50 percent scored needs improvement, and 13 percent scored as failing.

The 1980s brought a new reform movement in education, accompanied by a new emphasis on testing. The effort to improve education at all levels included the use of standardized tests to provide accountability for what students are learning. Minimum competency tests, achievement tests, and screening instruments were used to ensure that students from preschool through college reached the desired educational goals and achieved the minimum standards of education that were established locally or by the state education agency. As we continue in a new century, these concerns have increased.

The Florida Department of Education will continually strive to develop a system that evaluates equal access and program effectiveness. This ensures that all LEP students receive adequate English language skills to use when interacting with non-LEP students. The Florida Department of Education shall establish a system for minimum review of program effectiveness, which shall include review data such as: students are acquiring English language skills sufficient for parity of participation with non LEP students within a reasonable period of time; students are learning and progressing toward completion of requirements specified in the district's pupil progression plan as evidence by a comparison of LEP and non LEP students. A comparison of LEP and non LEP students by race/ethnic origins on:

Originally the Standard Based Assessment exam was used from 2012 to 2014 in order to evaluate the students’ proficiency on content-based material ( ). Just last year a new testing method, the Alaska Measures of Progress testing in the areas of mathematics, reading, and writing was adopted ( ). The shift from the Standard Base Assessment to the Alaska Measure of Progress was the Department of Education desire to have students prepared for secondary education or work placement expectations set for in the statement. The Alaska Measure of Progress exam are drastically different in questioning, scoring, achievement definitions, and score parameters then the preceding testing assessment ( ) This lack of comparison leaves the educators in a glitch as they try to educate their students in content-based material without having reliable proficiency testing results. As of this writing the educator will only have the snapshot of last year’s results to direct, guide, and implement their teaching strategies to facilitate the learning process in the classroom. However these test results scores are presently being debated in open forum to the public to set cutoff scores for the four categories in which the student will show proficiency ( ) . So without adequate guidance the teacher is hampered in their efforts to educate a diverse

Assessments are a critical tool in monitoring the progress of English language learners at all grade levels. The main purpose of assessments is to ensure students are receiving quality teaching instruction in accordance to academic and content standards. Even though these tests are not the only resource used for testing students, they provide teachers with invaluable data to determine if the student is growing in certain academic areas. There are several types of assessment that can be used to measure a student’s progress. In this paper, various alternatives to

ESL students are students that speak English as a second language. Presently, there is many different system to characterize this type of students (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). For example, they can be seen as “English Language Learners (ELL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English Language Development (ELD), English Language Service (ELS), and